“This is one of the great sports stories of 2025,” the announcer gushed after the 18-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko upset Naomi Osaka to win the National Bank Open in Montreal last night. Then, rather than letting its viewers enjoy the moment – the crowd’s embrace of its new star, the on-court interview, the joyous trophy presentation – Tennis Channel switched to the men’s final being played in Toronto (which was not concluding but in the middle of an unmemorable first set). So we got to watch one of the year’s great sports stories but we didn’t get to bask in its afterglow – we didn’t get to hear the words of the winner. The ceremony, for some of us, is just as important as the play it celebrates.
